More Detective Inspector Chen

Liz Williams, The Shadow Pavilion

The continuing adventures of DI Chen and his ever-growing circle of partners-in-detection have reached new, if somewhat complicated heights.

Mhara, the beneficiary of one of Chen's previous investigations, is formally installed as Emperor of Heaven, and initiates changes which he hopes will bring Heaven and Earth closer together, reversing the course his Father had been set on. but not everyone in Heaven is happy with the idea of change - especially change that involves both greater freedom and greater responsibility for the citizens of Heaven, and Mhara finds himself the target of an assassination attempt. Chen is tasked to find - and foil - the demon assassin; meanwhile, his wife, the demon Inari, is drawn into the dimension "in between" where the assassin lives in the mysterious Shadow Pavilion.

Chen's partner, Inspector Zhu Irzh - a demon on long-term reassignment from Hell has been kidnapped in the course of a police investigation, and finds himself in the hunting lodge of the Indian god Agni, where he and Inari's badger/teakettle familiar are to be hunted by Agni's harem of tiger-demonesses.Is it a co-incidence that Zhu Irzh's fiancee is herself a tiger-demoness? Of course it isn't. Meanwhile, yet another tiger-demoness, summoned up years ago by a Bollywood screenwriter hoping to use her unearthly talents to make it big in the industry, is on the rampage throughout Singapore Three.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt it suffered somewhat by being a bit over-crowded. There were two full storylines here, and I'm not sure the either of them received the treatment they deserved. Particularly in the case of the assassination plotline, which failed, in my opinion, to fully explore a fascinating character, that of the two-spirited assassin Lord Lady Seijin, who is both male and female. I would also have liked to see more about the politics of Heaven. Also, the kidnapping plotline offered the potential to see much more of the Indian heavens and hells - we did see some of how this is set up, but that aspect of the material seemed a bit rushed.

In short, this could, I think, have been two separate novels, which might have made for even more enjoyment, and a more complete experience of both storylines.

This, however, will not stop me from reading the next installment, The Iron Khan - assuming I can get my hands on a copy. Williams has had to switch publishers three times so far in the course of this series, and so far it seems to only be available in hardcover or as an ebook. I have been waiting for a trade or mass market paperbook, but I suspect I will soon have to just go for the ebook.

Torin Kerr to the Rescue

Tanya Huff, Truth of Valor

In or out of the Marines, Tanya Huff's Torin Kerr kicks ass!

In the latest installment of Huff's MilSF Confederation series, Kerr, having left the Marines to go into partnership with her lover, deepspace salvage operator Craig Ryder, finds herself floundering in civilian life, especially when it comes to trying to integrate herself into the culture of the civilian salvage operators - an independent bunch at best, whose philosophies and customs are quite different from the Marines she has lived and worked among for so many years.

The difference is brought sharply home when Kerr and her partner find evidence of pirates preying on salvage operators, and Ryder is himself captured by the pirates. Ryder's friends and fellow operators refuse Torin's request for help in tracking down the pirates and trying to rescue him - a response that is almost unbelievable to someone imbued with the Marine Corps philosophy to leave no one behind.

Determined to find and save her lover no matter what the cost, Torin contacts old friends and mounts a rescue against all odds. What else would you expect her to do?

And at the end, a hint of more to come, which may take the Confederation's most kick-ass heroine in a new and promising direction.